Thomas A Swift's Electric Rifle

The TASER C2 is an interesting piece of equipment. It is a small light unit, meant for personal defense and at $350 it is quite a bit cheaper than the $1000 police model. But it is not without issues. Many groups like the NYPD and Amnesty International have issues with the TASER and don't like civilians (or even police officers in AI's case) using it. Which makes no sense to me as the alternative is pepper spray which has more severe long term effects, or beating/shooting the guy.

But the lack of long term effects isn't necessarily a good thing. Popular Mechanics has a video of Assistant Editor Erik Sofge getting shot with a TASER. Obviously it hurts. Sofge is highly incapacitating while the current is running. The problem? That's only 30 seconds and as soon as the current shuts off, Sofge is back to normal in short order. This is the main problem with TASERs. It hurts like hell, then it stops and within a few seconds the attacker can start beating you up where he left off.

Incidentally, this is why TASER recommends dropping the C2 and using those 30 seconds of shock time to open up distance between yourself and your assailant. Which means the TASER C2 is essentially a $350 expendable. That's kind of rich isn't it? Especially compared to $10-15 cans of pepper spray.

Really, pepper spray (also called OC spray) seems like a better deal to me. Not only is it cheaper, but people hit with OC spray do feel it for a long time. They often can't see well afterwards either. Sounds good to me. And of course for $350 you're in the price range for actual firearms too, but then you might kill the guy.